The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1889. The Masterton School Committee's Report.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3185, 22 April 1889, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1889. The Masterton School Committee's Report.

The report of the Masterton School Committee for the past year which has just been published, is in many respects a very satisfactory one, yet it presents points which the Committee would, no doubt, have gladly omitted had it been possible to do bo without malting it appear perfunctory. It is pleasing to note that there is a steady increase in the number of pupils in both schools, and that the teaching staff is efficient. It appears to us that there is not a school within the Education District of Wellington ..which has been subjected to so many changes in. its teaching staff during the past two or three years as that of Masterton, For some inexplicable reason teachers have always been on the move. If they did not leave of thiir own accord, they were removed by the Board. As suoh frequent changes are very apt to havo an undesirable effect, it is pleasing to know that the Committee is thoroughly satisfied. Thanks to the Town Lands Trustees, the Committee has been enabled to make sundry improvements whioh are out of the reach of other school districts. If we turn to the balancesheet which is attached, we find that matters are not quite so satisfactory, it is true that there is a balance of £i 14s on the right side of the ledger; but it appears to us'that this sum should have been increased by £3l 19s, which is the amount that has been paid for prizes distributed when the sohool broke up for the last Christmas holidays, Tho Committee had in trust a sum of £4l 17s 6d on the Cadet Fund account, and this money has been taken and used to pay for the prizes referred to. We know, of course, that the Committee was in a fix. The prizes were given in anticipation of the Town Landß Trust paying the bill, and when that body found itself unable to do that, the money had to be found in some other way, Tho Trust money was lying handy; there was little chance of its being required for alegitimate purpose in the near future, and the Committee took it to help itself out of a scrape, That is the plain fact, The Committee, no doubt, expects that it will soon be enabled to reimburse the cadet fund; but what will happen if it should be disappointed ? The cadet fund may not be of much importance; but whether it is important or not, it was never intended to be drawn upon for the payment of prizes, The puzzle to us is that the auditor should have passed tho matter over without comment. It remains to be seen whether the public will be content with tho mere statement that the money lias teen taken. ■'•'.'

When Mr Lee, the Inspector of Schools, paid his last visit to Mastertop, lie was evidently in a hurry. In liis report, as presented at the last meeting of the School Committee, he states that the' staff is sutftoient, though the Board was requiring another teacher attho time. Probably he could not spare the few minutes necessary to ascertain the facts. We notice that he has recommended that the infant classes be taught modelclay. The little ones would, no d,onbt, be highly delighted if they wei'e'povmittftd tp carry their favorite i pastime—that of making mud pies —into the school, : We submit, however, that they hare already too many opportunities to dirty themselves pod/then; clothes without being taught how to do it, If any of our infants have a latent talent to become sculptors, they will probably have chances enough to develop them later in life, The making of mud pies in school would probably have the effect of drawing the pupils' minds away from many more useful subjects. Perhaps the new (Jpmmittee will have sometbjngjo/pay on the matter. ■■■